House(wife) Work

I'm doing my best to be a Good Housewife--by appearances, I may be accomplishing a lot on the Good Housewife Project front.  I've been cooking dinner a lot more frequently than I ever have in my life (and apparently Dan even brags about my cooking at work--seriously???  I never really thought I would say the phrase "my cooking," let alone have Dan bragging about it!), the kids are happy and healthy, and the house is decently clean on a daily basis thanks to my cleaning schedule.  I've been feeling good about my ability to maintain and juggle all the demands in my life...but appearances can be deceiving.  Even though I'm feeling good about what I've been doing around the house, I have found that my internal monologue is running on repeat...specifically, repeating the same song over and over again as I go about my chores:

Yeah, the chorus of this song runs through my head--sometimes I even hear myself benignly humming the "Take this job and shove it" part while I'm cleaning the toilets.  I don't even realize what I'm humming, but when it dawns on me, it makes me laugh--my subconscious is trying to tell me something, apparently.  I don't feel particularly burdened or even unhappy about my job as a housewife, but I guess there are only so many bathrooms I can clean with a smile on my face and a pleasant song in my heart.

sometimes I fantasize about a desk job...

I love that my cleaning schedule now gives me a daily task and helps me not get behind, but some days, I want to rip it off the fridge and tear it to pieces.  It all feels a little silly, since it's a calendar I made up for myself and obviously it's not binding--I'm not a hired maid getting paid for my work (although, hey, some money for my effort would be nice--ha ha!).  I could just blow it off, but I know if I do, I will pay for it in the long run...so I keep cleaning, and I keep humming that same song over and over again.

Yesterday, I checked the cleaning schedule and discovered (yet again) that bathrooms were on the docket.  It seems that happens about once a week...the way things usually work with a schedule.  Ugh.  Instead of accepting my anthem of "Take this Job and Shove It," I decided to harness a more positive message--whatever my iPod had playing on shuffle!  Normally I don't wear my iPod when cleaning during naptime, because I never know when a desperate cry of "I need to go potty!" will emanate from Jake's room, but he had already gone once, so I figured I was safe...  I put my earbuds in, my cleaning gloves on, and got to work--rocking some Dave Matthews, Outkast, The Bangles, Erasure, Britney Spears, and UVa a capella (I seriously scrolled back through my playlist to get a sampling of what played while I cleaned--don't judge my eclectic musical tastes!).  In between songs a few times, I thought I could hear Jake yelling from his room, but I just kept cleaning and singing...and occasionally smiling.  No undies were wet during my cleaning time, I got all three bathrooms done before I had to rally the boys to go pick Abby up from the bus stop, and I kept the drudgery at bay, if only for 45 minutes!